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14 Auto Reclosing
14 Auto Reclosing
• 14 • Auto-Reclosing
Introduction 14.1
Application of auto-reclosing 14.2
Auto-reclosing on HV distribution networks 14.3
Factors influencing HV auto-reclose schemes 14.4
Auto-reclosing on EHV transmission lines 14.5
High speed auto-reclosing on EHV systems 14.6
Single-phase auto-reclosing 14.7
High speed auto-reclosing on lines
employing distance schemes 14.8
Delayed auto-reclosing on EHV systems 14.9
Operating features of auto-reclose schemes 14.10
Auto-close circuits 14.11
Examples of auto-reclose applications 14.12
Chap14 -218-231 17/06/02 9:37 Page 219
• 14 • Auto-Reclosing
14.1 INTRODUCTION
Faults on overhead lines fall into one of three categories:
a. transient
b. semi-permanent
c. permanent
80-90% of faults on any overhead line network are
transient in nature. The remaining 10%-20% of faults
are either semi-permanent or permanent.
Transient faults are commonly caused by lightning and
temporary contact with foreign objects. The immediate
tripping of one or more circuit breakers clears the fault.
Subsequent re-energisation of the line is usually successful.
A small tree branch falling on the line could cause a
semi-permanent fault. The cause of the fault would not
be removed by the immediate tripping of the circuit, but
could be burnt away during a time-delayed trip. HV
overhead lines in forest areas are prone to this type of
fault. Permanent faults, such as broken conductors, and
faults on underground cable sections, must be located
and repaired before the supply can be restored.
Use of an auto-reclose scheme to re-energise the line
after a fault trip permits successful re-energisation of
the line. Sufficient time must be allowed after tripping
for the fault arc to de-energise prior to reclosing
otherwise the arc will re-strike. Such schemes have been
the cause of a substantial improvement in continuity of
supply. A further benefit, particularly to EHV systems, is
the maintenance of system stability and synchronism.
A typical single-shot auto-reclose scheme is shown in
Figures 14.1 and 14.2. Figure 14.1 shows a successful
reclosure in the event of a transient fault, and Figure
14.2 an unsuccessful reclosure followed by lockout of the
circuit breaker if the fault is permanent.
Instant of fault
Operates Resets
Protection
Operating
time
Transient Trip coil Contacts Arc Contacts Closing circuit Contacts Contacts
fault energised separate extinguished fully open energised make fully closed
Circuit
breaker
Opening Arcing Closing
time time time
Operating time Dead time
System disturbance time Relay ready to respond to further fault incidents
Reclose initiated by protection (after successful reclosure)
Auto-reclose relay
Reclose
Operates Resets on to fault Operates Resets
Protection
Operating
time
Trip coil Contacts Arc Contacts Closing circuit Contacts Contacts Contacts Arc Contacts fully
Permanent energised separate extinguished fully open energised make fully closed separate Extinguished open
fault
Circuit
breaker
Opening Arcing Closing Trip coil
time time time energised
Auto-Reclosing
Time
The weighting given to the above factors is different for mainly to radial feeders where problems of system
HV distribution networks and EHV transmission systems stability do not arise, and the main advantages to be
and therefore it is convenient to discuss them under derived from its use can be summarised as follows:
separate headings. Sections 14.3 and 14.4 cover the a. reduction to a minimum of the interruptions of
application of auto-reclosing to HV distribution networks supply to the consumer
while Sections 14.5-14.9 cover EHV schemes. b. instantaneous fault clearance can be introduced, with
The rapid expansion in the use of auto-reclosing has led the accompanying benefits of shorter fault duration,
to the existence of a variety of different control schemes. less fault damage, and fewer permanent faults
The various features in common use are discussed in
Section 14.10. The related subject of auto-closing, that As 80% of overhead line faults are transient, elimination
is, the automatic closing of normally open circuit of loss of supply from this cause by the introduction of
breakers, is dealt with in Section 14.11. auto-reclosing gives obvious benefits through:
14.3 AUTO-RECLOSING ON HV DISTRIBUTION a. improved supply continuity
NETWORKS b. reduction of substation visits
On HV distribution networks, auto-reclosing is applied Instantaneous tripping reduces the duration of the
power arc resulting from an overhead line fault to a of the fault arc. Other time delays that contribute to the
minimum. The chance of permanent damage occurring total system disturbance time must also be kept as short as
to the line is reduced. The application of instantaneous possible. The problem arises only on distribution networks
protection may result in non-selective tripping of a with more than one power source, where power can be fed
number of circuit breakers and an ensuing loss of supply into both ends of an inter-connecting line. A typical
to a number of healthy sections. Auto-reclosing allows example is embedded generation (see Chapter 17), or
these circuit breakers to be reclosed within a few where a small centre of population with a local diesel
seconds. With transient faults, the overall effect would generating plant may be connected to the rest of the
be loss of supply for a very short time but affecting a supply system by a single tie-line.
larger number of consumers. If only time-graded The use of high-speed protection, such as unit protection
protection without auto-reclose was used, a smaller or distance schemes, with operating times of less than
number of consumers might be affected, but for a longer 0.05s is essential. The circuit breakers must have very
time period. short operation times and then be able to reclose the
When instantaneous protection is used with auto- circuit after a dead time of the order of 0.3s-0.6s to
reclosing, the scheme is normally arranged to inhibit the allow for fault-arc de-ionisation.
instantaneous protection after the first trip. For a It may be desirable in some cases to use synchronism check
permanent fault, the time-graded protection will give logic, so that auto-reclosing is prevented if the phase angle
discriminative tripping after reclosure, resulting in the has moved outside specified limits. The matter is dealt
isolation of the faulted section. Some schemes allow a with more fully in Section 14.9 on EHV systems.
number of reclosures and time-graded trips after the
first instantaneous trip, which may result in the burning 14.4.1.2 Type of load
out and clearance of semi-permanent faults. A further On HV systems, the main problem to be considered in
benefit of instantaneous tripping is a reduction in circuit relation to dead time is the effect on various types of
breaker maintenance by reducing pre-arc heating when consumer load.
clearing transient faults. a. industrial consumers
When considering feeders that are partly overhead line Most industrial consumers operate mixed loads
and partly underground cable, any decision to install comprising induction motors, lighting, process
auto-reclosing would be influenced by any data known control and static loads. Synchronous motors may
on the frequency of transient faults. Where a significant also be used. Dead time has to be long enough to
Auto-Reclosing
proportion of faults are permanent, the advantages of allow motor circuits to trip out on loos of supply.
auto-reclosing are small, particularly since reclosing on Once the supply is restored, restarting of drives can
to a faulty cable is likely to aggravate the damage. then occur under direction of the process control
system in a safe and programmed manner, and can
often be fast enough to ensure no significant loss
14.4 FACTORS INFLUENCING HV AUTO-RECLOSE of production or product quality
SCHEMES b. domestic consumers
The factors that influence the choice of dead time, It is improbable that expensive processes or dangerous
reclaim time, and the number of shots are now discussed. conditions will be involved with domestic consumers
and the main consideration is that of inconvenience • 14 •
and compensation for supply interruption. A dead
14.4.1 Dead Time time of seconds or a few minutes is of little
Several factors affect the selection of system dead time importance compared with the loss of cooking
as follows: facilities, central heating, light and audio/visual
a. system stability and synchronism entertainment resulting from a longer supply failure
b. type of load that could occur without auto-reclosing
c. CB characteristics 14.4.1.3 Circuit breaker characteristics
d. fault path de-ionisation time
The time delays imposed by the circuit breaker during a
e. protection reset time
tripping and reclosing operation must be taken into
These factors are discussed in the following sections. consideration, especially when assessing the possibility
of applying high speed auto-reclosing.
14.4.1.1 System stability and synchronism
a. mechanism resetting time
In order to reclose without loss of synchronism after a fault
on the interconnecting feeder, the dead time must be kept Most circuit breakers are ‘trip free’, which means that
to the minimum permissible consistent with de-ionisation the breaker can be tripped during the closing stroke.
After tripping, a time of the order of 0.2s must be when on maximum time setting, and dead times of at
allowed for the trip-free mechanism to reset before least this value may be required.
applying a closing impulse. Where high speed reclosing When short dead times are required, the protection
is required, a latch check interlock is desirable in the relays must reset almost instantaneously, a requirement
reclosing circuit that is easily met by the use of static, digital and
b. closing time numerical I.D.M.T. relays.
This is the time interval between the energisation of the
closing mechanism and the making of the contacts. 14.4.2 Reclaim Time
Owing to the time constant of the solenoid and the
inertia of the plunger, a solenoid closing mechanism may Factors affecting the setting of the reclaim time are
take 0.3s to close. A spring-operated breaker, on the discussed in the following sections.
other hand, can close in less than 0.2s. Modern vacuum 14.4.2.1 Type of protection
circuit breakers may have a closing time of less than 0.1s
The reclaim time must be long enough to allow the
The circuit breaker mechanism imposes a minimum dead protection relays to operate when the circuit breaker is
time made up from the sum of (a) and (b) above. Figure reclosed on to a permanent fault. The most common
14.3 illustrates the performance of modern HV circuit forms of protection applied to HV lines are I.D.M.T. or
breakers in this respect. Older circuit breakers may definite time over-current and earth-fault relays. The
require longer times than those shown. maximum operating time for the former with very low
fault levels could be up to 30 seconds, while for fault
Arc
levels of several times rating the operating time may be
Time (s)
extinguished 10 seconds or less.
Contacts Contacts
separate make
Breaker fully open: In the case of definite time protection, settings of 3
Tripp Breaker
initiation closing circuit energised seconds or less are common, with 10 seconds as an
fullyy
closed
absolute maximum. It has been common practice to use
t1 reclaim times of 30 seconds on HV auto-reclose schemes.
t2 t3 t4 t6 However, there is a danger with a setting of this length
t5
that during a thunderstorm, when the incidence of
Oil Vacuum Oil Air SF6 SF6 transient faults is high, the breaker may reclose
Auto-Reclosing
times are rarely used in practice, to relieve the duty on conditions, the amount of synchronising power
the circuit breaker. transmitted, P, crosses the power/angle curve OAB at
point X, showing that the phase displacement between
14.4.2.2 Spring winding time
the two systems is θo. Under fault conditions, the curve
The reclaim time of motor-wound spring-closed breakers OCB is applicable, and the operating point changes to Y.
must be at least as long as the spring winding time, to Assuming constant power input to both ends of the line,
ensure that the breaker is not subjected to a further there is now an accelerating power XY. As a result, the
reclosing operating with a partly wound spring. operating point moves to Z, with an increased phase
displacement, θ1, between the two systems. At this point
the circuit breakers trip and break the connection. The
14.4.3 Number of Shots phase displacement continues to increase at a rate
There are no definite rules for defining the number of dependent on the inertia of the two power sources. To
shots for any particular auto-reclose application, but a maintain synchronism, the circuit breaker must be
number of factors must be taken into account. reclosed in a time short enough to prevent the phase
angle exceeding θ2. This angle is such that the area (2)
14.4.3.1 Circuit breaker limitations stays greater than the area (1), which is the condition for
Important considerations are the ability of the circuit maintenance of synchronism.
breaker to perform several trip and close operations in
quick succession and the effect of these operations on
the maintenance period. Maintenance periods vary
according to the type of circuit breaker used and the Fault
fault current broken when clearing each fault. Use of
modern numerical relays can assist, as they often have a Loads Loads
Auto-Reclosing
Y
moderate percentage of semi-permanent faults that 1
Fault condition
could be burned out during 2 or 3 time-delayed trips, a
multi-shot scheme may be justified. This is often the
0 θ0 θ1 θ2 B
case in forest areas. Another situation is where fused Phase displacement
‘tees’ are used and the fault level is low, since the fusing
Figure 14.4: Effect of high-speed three-phase
time may not discriminate with the main I.D.M.T. relay. auto-reclosing on system stability for a weak system
The use of several shots will heat the fuse to such an
extent that it would eventually blow before the main This example, for a weak system, shows that the
protection operated. successful application of auto-reclosing in such a case
needs high-speed protection and circuit breakers, and a
• 14 •
short dead time. On strong systems, synchronism is
14.5 AUTO-RECLOSING ON EHV TRANSMISSION LINES unlikely to be lost by the tripping out of a single line. For
The most important consideration in the application of such systems, an alternative policy of delayed auto-
auto-reclosing to EHV transmission lines is the reclosing may be adopted. This enables the power
maintenance of system stability and synchronism. The swings on the system resulting from the fault to decay
problems involved are dependent on whether the before reclosure is attempted.
transmission system is weak or strong. With a weak The various factors to be considered when using EHV
system, loss of a transmission link may lead quickly to an auto-reclose schemes are now dealt with. High-speed
excessive phase angle across the CB used for re-closure, and delayed auto-reclose schemes are discussed
thus preventing a successful re-closure. In a relatively separately.
strong system, the rate of change of phase angle will be
slow, so that delayed auto-reclose can be successfully
applied. 14.6 HIGH SPEED AUTO-RECLOSING ON EHV SYSTEMS
An illustration is the interconnector between two power The first requirement for the application of high-speed
systems as shown in Figure 14.4. Under healthy auto-reclosing is knowledge of the system disturbance
time that can be tolerated without loss of system the dead time required. This is a particular problem on
stability. This will normally require transient stability long distance EHV transmission lines.
studies to be conducted for a defined set of power
system configurations and fault conditions. With
knowledge of protection and circuit breaker operating 14.6.3 Circuit Breaker Characteristics
characteristics and fault arc de-ionisation times, the The high fault levels involved in EHV systems imposes a
feasibility of high-speed auto-reclosing can then be very severe duty on the circuit breakers used in high-
assessed. These factors are now discussed. speed auto-reclose schemes. The accepted breaker cycle
of break-make-break requires the circuit breaker to
interrupt the fault current, reclose the circuit after a
14.6.1 Protection Characteristics
time delay of upwards of 0.2s and then break the fault
The use of high-speed protection equipment, such as current again if the fault persists. The types of circuit
distance or unit protection schemes, giving operating breaker commonly used on EHV systems are oil, air blast
times of less than 50ms, is essential. In conjunction with and SF6 types.
fast operating circuit breakers, high-speed protection
14.6.3.1 Oil circuit breakers
reduces the duration of the fault arc and thus the total
system disturbance time. Oil circuit breakers are used for transmission voltages up
to 300kV, and can be subdivided into the two types: ‘bulk
It is important that the circuit breakers at both ends of a
oil’ and ‘small oil volume’. The latter is a design aimed at
fault line should be tripped as rapidly as possible. The
reducing the fire hazard associated with the large
time that the line is still being fed from one end
represents an effective reduction in the dead time, and volume of oil contained in the bulk oil breaker.
may well jeopardise the chances of a successful The operating mechanisms of oil circuit breakers are of
reclosure. When distance protection is used, and the two types, ‘fixed trip’ and ‘trip free’, of which the latter
fault occurs near one end of the line, special measures is the most common. With trip-free types, the reclosing
have to be adopted to ensure simultaneous tripping at cycle must allow time for the mechanism to reset after
each end. These are described in Section 14.8. tripping before applying the closing impulse.
Special means have to be adopted to obtain the short
14.6.2 De-Ionisation of Fault Arc dead times required for high-speed auto-reclosing.
Various types of tripping mechanism have been
Auto-Reclosing
It is important to know the time that must be allowed for developed to meet this requirement.
complete de-ionisation of the arc, to prevent the arc
restriking when the voltage is re-applied. The three types of closing mechanism fitted to oil circuit
breakers are:
The de-ionisation time of an uncontrolled arc, in free air
depends on the circuit voltage, conductor spacing, fault i. solenoid
currents, fault duration, wind speed and capacitive ii. spring
coupling from adjacent conductors. Of these, the circuit iii. pneumatic
voltage is the most important, and as a general rule, the CB’s with solenoid closing are not suitable for high-
higher the voltage the longer the time required for de- speed auto-reclose due to the long time constant
• 14 • ionisation. Typical values are given in Table 14.1. involved. Spring, hydraulic or pneumatic closing
mechanisms are universal at the upper end of the EHV
Line voltage (kV) Minimum de-energisation time range and give the fastest closing time. Figure 14.3
(seconds)
shows the operation times for various types of EHV
66 0.2
110 0.28
circuit breakers, including the dead time that can be
132 0.3 attained.
220 0.35 14.6.3.2 Air blast circuit breakers
275 0.38
400 0.45 Air blast breakers have been developed for voltages up to
525 0.55 the highest at present in use on transmission lines. They
fall into two categories:
Table 14.1: Fault-arc de-ionisation times a. pressurised head circuit breakers
b. non-pressurised head circuit breakers
If single-phase tripping and auto-reclosing is used, In pressurised head circuit breakers, compressed air is
capacitive coupling between the healthy phases and the maintained in the chamber surrounding the main
faulty phase tends to maintain the arc and hence extend contacts. When a tripping signal is received, an auxiliary
air system separates the main contacts and allows the circuit breakers are locked out after one unsuccessful
compressed air to blast through the gap to the attempt. Also, the incidence of semi-permanent faults
atmosphere, extinguishing the arc. With the contacts which can be cleared by repeated reclosures is less likely
fully open, compressed air is maintained in the chamber. than on HV systems.
Loss of air pressure could result in the contacts reclosing,
or, if a mechanical latch is employed, restriking of the arc 14.7 SINGLE-PHASE AUTO-RECLOSING
in the de-pressurised chamber. For this reason,
sequential series isolators, which isolate the main Single phase to earth faults account for the majority of
contacts after tripping, are commonly used with air blast overhead line faults. When three-phase auto-reclosing
breakers. Since these are comparatively slow in opening, is applied to single circuit interconnectors between two
their operation must be inhibited when auto-reclosing is power systems, the tripping of all three phases may
required. A contact on the auto-reclose relay is made cause the two systems to drift apart in phase, as
available for this purpose. described in Section 14.5. No interchange of
synchronising power can take place during the dead
Non-pressurised head circuit breakers are slower in time. If only the faulty phase is tripped, synchronising
operation than the pressurised head type and are not power can still be interchanged through the healthy
usually applied in high-speed reclosing schemes. phases. Any difference in phase between the two
14.6.3.3 SF6 circuit breakers systems will be correspondingly less, leading to a
reduction in the disturbance on the system when the
Most EHV circuit breaker designs now manufactured use circuit breaker recloses.
SF6 gas as an insulating and arc-quenching medium. The
basic design of such circuit breakers is in many ways For single-phase auto-reclosing each circuit breaker pole
similar to that of pressurised head air blast circuit must be provided with its own closing and tripping
breakers, and normally retain all, or almost all, of their mechanism; this is normal with EHV air blast and SF6
voltage withstand capability, even if the SF6 pressure level breakers. The associated tripping and reclosing circuitry
falls to atmospheric pressure. Sequential series isolators is therefore more complicated, and, except in distance
are therefore not normally used, but they are sometimes schemes, the protection may need the addition of phase
specified to prevent damage to the circuit breaker in the selection logic.
event of a lightning strike on an open ended conductor. On the occurrence of a phase-earth fault, single-phase
Provision should therefore be made to inhibit sequential auto-reclose schemes trip and reclose only the
Auto-Reclosing
series isolation during an auto-reclose cycle. corresponding pole of the circuit breaker. The auto-
reclose function in a relay therefore has three separate
elements, one for each phase. Operation of any element
14.6.4 Choice of Dead Time energises the corresponding dead timer, which in turn
At voltages of 220kV and above, the de-ionisation time initiates a closing pulse for the appropriate pole of the
will probably dictate the minimum dead time, rather circuit breaker. A successful reclosure results in the auto-
than any circuit breaker limitations. This can be deduced reclose logic resetting at the end of the reclaim time,
from Table 14.1. The dead time setting on a high-speed ready to respond to a further fault incident. If the fault
auto-reclose relay should be long enough to ensure is persistent and reclosure is unsuccessful, it is usual to
complete de-ionisation of the arc. On EHV systems, an trip and lock out all three poles of the circuit breaker. • 14 •
unsuccessful reclosure is more detrimental to the system The above describes only one of many variants. Other
than no reclosure at all. possibilities are:
a. three-phase trip and lockout for phase-phase or 3-
phase faults, or if either of the remaining phases
14.6.5 Choice of Reclaim Time
should develop a fault during the dead time
Where EHV oil circuit breakers are concerned, the
b. use of a selector switch to give a choice of single
reclaim time should take account of the time needed for
or three-phase reclosing
the closing mechanism to reset ready for the next
reclosing operation. c. combined single and three-phase auto-reclosing;
single phase to earth faults initiate single-phase
tripping and reclosure, and phase-phase faults
14.6.6 Number of Shots initiate three-phase tripping and reclosure
High-speed auto-reclosing on EHV systems is invariably Modern numerical relays often incorporate the logic for
single shot. Repeated reclosure attempts with high fault all of the above schemes, for the user to select as
levels would have serious effects on system stability, so required. Use can be made of any user-definable logic
feature in a numerical relay to implement other schemes reclosing applied to the circuit breakers at each end of
that may be required. the feeder could result either in no dead time or in a
dead time insufficient to allow de-ionisation of the fault
The advantages of single-phase auto-reclosing are:
arc. A transient fault could therefore be seen as a
a. the maintenance of system integrity permanent one, resulting in the locking out of both
b. on multiple earth systems, negligible interference circuit breakers.
with the transmission of load. This is because the Two methods are available for overcoming this difficulty.
current in the faulted phase can flow through Firstly, one of the transfer-trip or blocking schemes that
earth via the various earthing points until the fault involves the use of an intertrip signal between the two
is cleared and the faulty phase restored ends of the line can be used. Alternatively, a Zone 1
The main disadvantage is the longer de-ionisation time extension scheme may be used to give instantaneous
resulting from capacitive coupling between the faulty tripping over the whole line length. Further details of
and healthy lines. This leads to a longer dead time being these schemes are given in Chapter 12, but a brief
required. Maloperation of earth fault relays on double description of how they are used in conjunction with an
circuit lines owing to the flow of zero sequence currents auto-reclose scheme is given below.
may also occur. These are induced by mutual induction
between faulty and healthy lines (see Chapter 13 for
14.8.1 Transfer-Trip or Blocking Schemes
details).
This involves use of a signalling channel between the two
ends of the line. Tripping occurs rapidly at both ends of
14.8 HIGH-SPEED AUTO-RECLOSING ON LINES the faulty line, enabling the use of high-speed auto-
EMPLOYING DISTANCE SCHEMES reclose. Some complication occurs if single-phase auto-
The importance of rapid tripping of the circuit breakers reclose is used, as the signalling channel must identify
at each end of a faulted line where high-speed auto- which phase should be tripped, but this problem does not
reclosing is employed has already been covered in exist if a modern numerical relay is used.
Section 14.6. Simple distance protection presents some Irrespective of the scheme used, it is customary to
difficulties in this respect. provide an auto-reclose blocking relay to prevent the
Owing to the errors involved in determining the ohmic circuit breakers auto-reclosing for faults seen by the
Auto-Reclosing
setting of the distance relays, it is not possible to set Zone distance relay in Zones 2 and 3.
1 of a distance relay to cover 100% of the protected line
– see Chapter 11 for more details. Zone 1 is set to cover
14.8.2 Zone 1 Extension
80-85% of the line length, with the remainder of the line
covered by time-delayed Zone 2 protection. In this scheme, the reach of Zone 1 is normally extended
to 120% of the line length and is reset to 80% when a
Zone 3(J) command from the auto-reclose logic is received. This
Zone 3(G) auto-reclose logic signal should occur before a closing
Middle Zone 2 (G) Zone 2(J) pulse is applied to the circuit breaker and remain operated
Zone
• 14 • End End until the end of the reclaim time. The logic signal should
Zone Zone 1(G) Zone 1(J)
Zone also be present when auto-reclose is out of service.
G H J K
Zone 2(H)
Zone 1(H) Zone 1(K) 14.9 DELAYED AUTO-RECLOSING ON EHV SYSTEMS
Zone 2(K) On highly interconnected transmission systems, where
the loss of a single line is unlikely to cause two sections
Zone 3(K)
of the system to drift apart significantly and lose
Zone 3(H)
synchronism, delayed auto-reclosing can be employed.
Figure 14.5: Typical three zone distance scheme Dead times of the order of 5s-60s are commonly used. No
problems are presented by fault arc de-ionisation times
Figure 14.5 illustrates this for a typical three-zone
and circuit breaker operating characteristics, and power
distance scheme covering two transmission lines.
swings on the system decay before reclosing. In addition,
For this reason, a fault occurring in an end zone would all tripping and reclose schemes can be three-phase only,
be cleared instantaneously, by the protection at one end simplifying control circuits in comparison with single-
of the feeder. However, the CB at the other end opens in phase schemes. In systems on which delayed auto-
0.3-0.4 seconds (Zone 2 time). High-speed auto- reclosing is permissible, the chances of a reclosure being
successful are somewhat greater with delayed reclosing If for any reason the line fails to ‘dead line charge’ from
than would be the case with high-speed reclosing. end A, reclosure from end B would take place after 15
seconds. The circuit breaker at A would then be given
the opportunity to reclose with a synchronism check.
14.9.1 Scheme Operation
The sequence of operations of a delayed auto-reclose
scheme can be best understood by reference to Figure 14.9.2 Synchronism Check Relays
14.6. This shows a transmission line connecting two The synchronism check relay element commonly provides
substations A and B, with the circuit beakers at A and B a three-fold check:
tripping out in the event of a line fault. Synchronism is i. phase angle difference
unlikely to be lost in a system that employs delayed auto- ii. voltage
reclose. However, the transfer of power through the iii. frequency difference
remaining tie-lines on the system could result in the
development of an excessive phase difference between the The phase angle setting is usually set to between
voltages at points A and B. The result, if reclosure takes 20o–45o, and reclosure is inhibited if the phase difference
place, is an unacceptable shock to the system. It is exceeds this value. The scheme waits for a reclosing
therefore usual practice to incorporate a synchronism opportunity with the phase angle within the set value,
check relay into the reclosing system to determine but locks out if reclosure does not occur within a defined
whether auto-reclosing should take place. period, typically 5s.
A voltage check is incorporated to prevent reclosure
A B under various circumstances. A number of different
modes may be available. These are typically
(a) Network diagram undervoltage on either of the two measured voltages,
Protn. operated differential voltage, or both of these conditions.
(local or &
intertrip) The logic also incorporates a frequency difference check,
AR lockout
1
S Q AR either by direct measurement or by using a timer in
R Q in progress
CB closed conjunction with the phase angle check. In the latter
1 0 ti
& case, if a 2 second timer is employed, the logic gives an
AR inhibit output only if the phase difference does not exceed the
Auto-Reclosing
time
Reclaim timer phase angle setting over a period of 2 seconds. This
tR 0
limits the frequency difference (in the case of a phase
Dead time angle setting of 20o) to a maximum of 0.11% of 50Hz,
& td
CB open
Protn. reset
0
& CB close corresponding to a phase swing from +20o to -20o over
CB healthy command
System healthy
the measured 2 seconds. While a significant frequency
S Q
14.10.1 Initiation fitted to oil, air blast and SF6 circuit breakers use a circuit
Modern auto-reclosing schemes are invariably initiated breaker auxiliary switch for terminating the closing pulse
by the tripping command of a protection relay function. applied by the auto-reclose relay.
Some older schemes may employ a contact on the circuit
breaker. Modern digital or numerical relays often
incorporate a comprehensive auto-reclose facility within 14.10.5 Anti-Pumping Devices
the relay, thus eliminating the need for a separate auto- The function of an anti-pumping device is to prevent the
reclose relay and any starter relays. circuit breaker closing and opening several times in quick
succession. This might be caused by the application of a
closing pulse while the circuit breaker is being tripped
14.10.2 Type of Protection via the protection relays. Alternatively, it may occur if
On HV distribution systems, advantage is often taken of the circuit breaker is closed on to a fault and the closing
auto-reclosing to use instantaneous protection for the pulse is longer than the sum of protection relay and
first trip, followed by I.D.M.T. for subsequent trips in a circuit breaker operating times. Circuit breakers with
single fault incident. In such cases, the auto-reclose trip free mechanisms do not require this feature.
relay must provide a means of isolating the
instantaneous relay after the first trip. In older schemes,
this may be done with a normally closed contact on the 14.10.6 Reclaim Timer
auto-reclose starting element wired into the connection
Electromechanical, static or software-based timers are
between the instantaneous relay contact and the circuit
breaker trip coil. With digital or numerical relays with used to provide the reclaim time, depending on the relay
in-built auto-reclose facilities, internal logic facilities technology used. If electromechanical timers are used, it
will normally be used. is convenient to employ two independently adjustable
timed contacts to obtain both the dead time and the
With certain supply authorities, it is the rule to fit reclaim time on one timer. With static and software-
tripping relays to every circuit breaker. If auto-reclosing
based timers, separate timer elements are generally
is required, electrically reset tripping relays must be used,
provided.
and a contact must be provided either in the auto-
reclose logic or by separate trip relay resetting scheme to
Auto-Reclosing
Auto-Reclosing
the station is under the control of a circuit breaker, CB1
unacceptable value.
to CB6 inclusive, and each transmission line can be
connected either to the main or to the reserve busbars by
manually operated isolators.
T1 T2 T3 T4
Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Line 5 Line 6
(Standby)
L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6
CB1A T1
CB1 CB2 CB3 CB4 IT1
with T2
auto-closing CB2A IT2 • 14 •
CB1 CB2 CB3 CB4 CB5 CB6
Bus C
Main
EHV BC
Busbars
Reserve
Figure 14.7: Standby transformer with auto-closing
The solution is to have a standby transformer T4 Figure 14.8: Double busbar substation
permanently energised from the primary side and
arranged to be switched into service if one of the others
Bus section isolators enable sections of busbar to be
trips on fault.
isolated in the event of fault, and bus coupler breaker BC
The starting circuits for breaker CB4 monitor the permits sections of main and reserve bars to be
operation of transformer protection on any of the interconnected.
transformers T1, T2 and T3 together with the tripping of
14.12.1.1 Basic scheme – banked transformers omitted
an associated circuit breaker CB1-CB3. In the event of
a fault, the auto-close circuit is initiated and circuit Each line circuit breaker is provided with an auto-reclose
breaker CB4 closes, after a short time delay, to switch in relay that recloses the appropriate circuit breakers in the
403
14.12.2 Single Switch Substation Line 1 MC1 420 MC4 Line 4
The arrangement shown in Figure 14.9 consists basically 120 mesh corner 320
of two transformer feeders interconnected by a single
MC3 303
circuit breaker 120. Each transformer therefore has an Line 2 220 Line 3
alternative source of supply in the event of loss of one or
other of the feeders. Figure 14.10: Four-switch mesh substation
Considerable problems can are encountered in the in advance of reclosure if the fault is persistent or not.
application of auto-reclosing to the mesh substation. For In these circumstances, scheme logic inhibits reclosure
example, circuit breakers 120 and 420 in Figure 14.10 and locks out the circuit breakers.
are tripped out for a variety of different types of fault
14.12.3.6 Persistent mesh corner fault
associated with mesh corner 1 (MC1), and each requires
different treatment as far as auto-reclosing is concerned. The sequence describe in Section 14.12.3.5 is followed
Further variations occur if the faults are persistent. initially. When CB 120 is reclosed, it will trip again due
to the fault and lock out. At this point, the logic inhibits
Following normal practice, circuit breakers must be
the reclosure of CB’s 420, G1A and G1B and locks out
reclosed in sequence, so sequencing circuits are
these CB’s. Line isolator 103 is automatically opened to
necessary for the four mesh breakers. Closing priority
isolate the fault from the remote station.
may be in any order, but is normally 120, 220, 320, and
420.
A summary of facilities is now given, based on mesh
corner MC1 to show the inclusion of banked
transformers; facilities at other corners are similar but
omit the operation of equipment solely associated with
the banked transformers.
14.12.3.1 Transient fault on Line 1
Tripping of circuit breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B is
followed by reclosure of 120 to give dead line charging
of Line 1. Breaker 420 recloses in sequence, with a
synchronism check. Breakers G1A, G1B reclose with a
synchronism check if necessary.
14.12.3.2 Persistent fault on Line 1
Circuit breaker 120 trips again after the first reclosure
and isolator 103 is automatically opened to isolate the
faulted line. Breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B then
Auto-Reclosing
reclose in sequence as above.
14.12.3.3 Transformer fault (local transformer 1A)
Automatic opening of isolator 113A to isolate the
faulted transformer follows tripping of circuit breakers
120, 420, G1A and G1B. Breakers 120, 420 and G1B
then reclose in sequence, and breaker G1A is locked out.
14.12.3.4 Transformer fault (remote transformer)
For a remote transformer fault, an intertrip signal is
received at the local station to trip breakers 120, 420, • 14 •
G1A and G1B and inhibit auto-reclosing until the
faulted transformer has been isolated at the remote
station. If the intertrip persists for 60 seconds it is
assumed that the fault cannot be isolated at the remote
station. Isolator 103 is then automatically opened and
circuit breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B are reclosed in
sequence.
14.12.3.5 Transient mesh corner fault
Any fault covered by the mesh corner protection zone,
shown in Figure 14.10, results in tripping of circuit
breakers 120, 420, G1A and G1B. These are then
reclosed in sequence.
There may be circumstances in which reclosure onto a
persistent fault is not permitted – clearly it is not known